


Hat Trick

by lavendersblues (lonely_lovebird)



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Flashpoint, Asexual Mick Rory, Crack Treated Seriously, Do not post to another site, Eddie Thawne Lives, Eddie isn't even in the fic but he lives, First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Mick Rory Defense Squad, Mick Rory is a Softie, Not Canon Compliant, Queerplatonic Relationships, because I say so, if you are reading this anywhere other than archive of our own it has been stolen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 10:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19248931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_lovebird/pseuds/lavendersblues
Summary: “And how do I feel about the Flash?” Lenny sneered, determinedly not looking at the hostage that was trapped between Mick and Lisa.“Easy,” Mick grunted. “You love him.”Mick and Lisa both jumped as a high pitched strangled noise burst from the boy on the chair between them, whose shoulders had caved as he slumped over in his seat, face nearly touching his knees, his brown hair hanging limp against his pant legs.Barry moaned, his voice barely a nasal squeak. “Oh, I really shouldn’t be here.”





	Hat Trick

**Author's Note:**

> A Hat Trick, if you aren't familiar with the term, is what a player gets in hockey if they score three consecutive goals. In this case, it's a term being loosely applied to a successful trio of kidnappings - Caitlin, Cisco, and now Barry.
> 
> Thanks to [KatieComma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieComma) for being the world's best friend, cheerleader, and Beta Reader!

Buying groceries seemed so mundane after living life in a time vortex on a ship that could literally synthesize food from anywhere, anytime, for free. Len had to admit that if he  _ had _ to be a hero, the perks of the Waverider had been worth it.

It had been nearly three weeks since the Oculus and Len had finally been deemed “alive enough” to go home, according to Sara. She was one to talk, after all. But after their moment of emotional goodbye, and after Len was discovered to be not quite as dead as everyone thought, Sara clarified that she didn’t feel quite so strongly about him as she’d initially thought in his dying moments.

Which was fair. Len wasn’t entirely sure he had even thought about Sara at all, despite the massive kiss she planted on him before disappearing into the Time Ship. He tried not to think about the fact that even as Sara’s lips were on his own, his mind had been on a pair of green eyes, wild brown hair, and a smile that reminded him of sunshine - and the color red.

Hiking his bag of food a little higher in his arms, Len made his way up the stairs to his top floor apartment - the only place that even the CCPD hadn’t known about. Somehow all of his previous safe houses had been discovered and raided while he’d been off with the Legends, and the raids had sent several of the Rogues back to Iron Heights.

Lisa was still out, though, and she’d been living in his off the grid apartment - waiting for him to come home.

The door was open slightly as Len approached it and he paused, glancing at the door jam. There were no signs of a struggle and he could distinctly hear voices arguing - Mick’s was the most obvious and the loudest, followed by Lisa’s and --

“--no, really I swear! I only know Cisco from college! He introduced me to Caitlin when he started working at STAR Labs! I’m just a CSI, a glorified nerd, I swear it!”

Len’s stomach dropped through the floor and down the four stories to the street below as he nudged open the door with his foot to find none other than Barry Allen in his living room, dressed in his street clothing (an extremely fetching button up, jeans, and that damn black coat with the red lining). And the weirdest thing of all --

“Stuff it! You’re my last bet for getting the Flash to show up, kid. He owes Snart a conversation after everything we’ve done.”

The strangest part of the entire picture was that Barry was tied to one of Len’s kitchen chairs, hair mussed, Lisa’s Gold Gun and Mick’s Heat Gun trained on him intently as Barry tried (and failed, in Len’s opinion) to look terrified.

“Mick…” Len drawled dangerously, kicking the door behind him closed with another tap of his shoe, “What the hell?”

 

_ 3 Hours Ago _

 

“Something’s wrong with Lenny.”

Mick Rory glanced up with a grunt as his favorite girl, Lisa Snart, dropped into a seat across from him in the aforementioned Leonard Snart’s apartment where he was seated at the table, cleaning his Heat Gun. It was on his last day before he was set to return to the Waverider with Haircut who was busy doing business in Star City.

Lisa was pouting at him, her Gold Gun cradled in her hands, posture slouched as she sprawled out in Len’s dining chairs. She stared past Mick at something on the wall, spacing out as she probably evaluated everything she’d seen or heard her brother do since they’d both gotten back almost a month before.

Mick wasn’t going to tell the only woman alive he cared about that her brother had died in a place beyond time in an explosion that had somehow killed him, then that same explosion had somehow rewritten time, rewinding it, bringing that same brother back to life.

Time wasn’t something to be messed with. Mick had learned that the hard way.

But people were never the same after dying, Mick knew, because he saw it in the haunted look that Sara wore every day. The same look that was creeping into the depths of Len’s eyes now. But where Sara needed the constant thrill of adventure to keep the chill away, Mick knew his best friend better than that. Leonard Snart needed his family. Needed his city.

Needed love.

Not that they’d ever talked love outside of picking up one-nighters at the bar or old flames that had broken their hearts. But Mick didn’t need to be told to know that Leonard Snart was in love with the Flash. Nothing would have convinced Len to walk onto the Waverider if it weren’t for Central City’s own Scarlet Speedster and his absolute faith that Len was still somehow a genuinely  _ good  _ person.

“Mick are you even listening to me?” Lisa snapped, thumping a hand on the table. Mick grunted and jumped, glancing down. He’d stopped polishing his gun, lost in his own thoughts. “Or are you planning your next book, because if you’re ignoring me for your writing hobby when I have an actual serious problem - I will shoot you.”

“I’m listening Lise,” he growled. “Just don’t know what kind of problem you think Snart has. He went time traveling, stole some stuff, kicked some ass, nothing new.”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “You really don’t see it,” she sounded truly surprised and she looked at Mick with wide, calculating eyes. “You spent so much time with him when he was gone but he’s back and you don’t see it.”

“Don’t see what, Lisa.”

Lisa drew a circle on the table with a nail. “He’s lonely, Mick. He’s been with us for almost three weeks, even seen the Rogues and your pal Palmer, but he’s  _ lonely _ .”

Mick decided to ignore how she said ‘your pal Palmer’ and just focus on the other half of the sentiment. He had noticed that Len was lonely, contrary to her accusations, but he’d assumed it was because of two things, both of which were inevitable.

The first was that Len missed being on a ship with a crew that felt like family. It was a direct result of the fact Len had respectfully bowed out after his death and resurrection, deciding that Lisa needed him more than the Time Stream.

The second…

Well, maybe Lisa had a point about ‘your pal Palmer’. It was no secret that Mick had gotten closer to Haircut on the ship. Sara had Rip. Jax had Stein. And while only Sara and Rip were romantic in a vague sense, they were all pairs that were dedicated to each other.

Somehow during the two months that Len was presumed dead, Mick had changed and grown away from his best friend, his partner. But maybe it was always going to go this way in the end. They were getting old. They were different people.

Maybe crime really had been the only thing keeping them together after all.

Maybe it was time for Len to find himself a new partner - maybe this time a little more permanent, one he didn’t have to share.

“You’re right.”

Lisa barreled on, her brain seemingly too far ahead to recognize Mick’s admission. “I don’t care what you say, Mick, I know my brother -- wait, what?”

“I said you’re right, and I think I know how to fix it.”

Lisa leaned back, her expression an unreadable mix of something akin to impressed and terrified. “Wow, I guess time travel really did change you, Mick. You’ve never agreed with me. Not once.”

Mick rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well you can blame that all on Haircut. But if you’ll stop jumping down my throat for three seconds, I’ll tell you my idea.”

When he finished laying out the plan in simple terms, Lisa smiled, and Mick had to admit that he always enjoyed the predatory Snart smile on her. It was almost as terrifying as Len’s.

 

_ Meanwhile in the Present _

 

The kid was cute, Lisa had to admit. She vaguely remembered him from the bar with Cisco, and the time she’d tracked Cisco and Caitlin to the coffee shop. But the kid had always kept to himself if she’d seen him with Cisco at the lab or in public on the off chance that they ran into each other.

Other than the day at the bar, she wasn’t entirely sure he’d even said two words to her after that.

But he was cute, and he knew the Flash, and if that was what it took to make her brother happy then so be it. Plus maybe she could con him out of Cisco’s new phone number.

“Mick,” Lenny drawled, eyes hard and cold, glaring out from under his hawk-like eyebrows, “What the hell?” Her brother always was one for the dramatic and he placed the bag of groceries on the table by the door before reaching back to lock it with one hand, his eyes never leaving Barry’s face as he waited for Mick to answer.

If Lisa wasn’t certain the kid was scared out of his mind, the way that his shoulders stiffened at the sight of Lenny would have clinched it.

Except --

As soon as the door locked and Lenny’s hands were free, the kid relaxed. Their kidnapping victim, who was friends with both Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow,  _ relaxed!  _ Lisa was fairly positive that after two people you knew had been kidnapped and threatened by  _ the  _ Captain Cold, the last thing a person would be feeling face to face with Captain Cold was  _ relief _ .

“Figured this was the fastest way to get the Flash’s attention,” Mick grumbled, tilting his gun towards the ceiling. “Better than a heist anyway.”

And there went the kid’s shoulders again, stiff and tense.

Lenny raised an eyebrow slowly. “And why did we need the Flash’s attention, Mick? We’ve been successfully out of the business for a year on the Waverider. He knows Palmer and Sara have been there too. We’re not on his radar anymore.”

“Exactly!” Mick barked. “We’re back in town for three weeks and the kid can’t even bother to show up to see if your deal’s still in place?” 

Lenny narrowed his eyes flicking them towards Lisa who tried to play up her innocence, her gun never wavering from the kid in the chair. Barry Allen had been all too easy to jump in the back of the alley, to be honest. It was pretty sad the kid even managed to work for the CCPD with such terrible self defense skills.

“Mick that doesn’t make any sense, so you’d better explain faster -- or let the kid go before I ice you myself.”

“It was my idea!” Lisa blurted, powering down her gun and holstering it. “Don’t take it out on Mick, I told him I thought you’d been acting weird lately and Mick said that…” She trailed off, nerves getting the better of her. Lisa had never been particularly bold, and she blamed a lifetime of growing up under Lewis Snart’s thumb for her inability to ever stand up for herself.

But this time her actions weren’t for herself, they were for Lenny. And if Lisa Snart was good at one thing, she was good at fighting for her family.

“Mick said that you might feel better if you could talk to the Flash after everything that happened to you. So! I thought about borrowing Cisco for a minute, except that you and I both know that the same trick never works twice. And Caitlin was  _ obviously _ out of the question.”

Lenny now had both eyebrows raised and his arms were crossed.

Not good.

“So you decided to go for a hat trick and kidnap Barry Allen instead.”

Lisa started. “You know him?”

Lenny sneered. “We’ve met.”

Mick rolled his eyes. “I’ll take the rap for kidnapping the kid, Snart, I’m the one who put him in the van. But this way you can get your feelings out in the open without having to hunt the Flash down or go on a heist.”

Lenny rolled his eyes right back. “I could have just gone to STAR Labs if I really wanted to talk to the Flash.”

“You and I both know you wouldn’t though,” Lisa added. “But this way he can get here, we’ll let the kid go back to his normal life, and then you can have your little heart to heart chat with the Flash and tell him how you feel.”

Lenny’s hackles were raised now, and Lisa felt a tinge of fear - not of her brother, but of the repercussions of their plan. Maybe Mick hadn’t thought things through all the way. Lisa didn’t know how her brother had changed quite yet, but Mick had seemed to think her idea was the best way to get Lenny to confess.

“And how do I feel about the Flash?” He sneered, determinedly not looking at the hostage that was trapped between Mick and Lisa.

“Easy,” Mick grunted. “You love him.”

Mick and Lisa both jumped as a high pitched strangled noise burst from the boy on the chair between them, whose shoulders had caved as he slumped over in his seat, face nearly touching his knees, his brown hair hanging limp against his pant legs.

Barry moaned, his voice barely a nasal squeak. “Oh, I really shouldn’t be here.”

 

_ Jitters Coffee Shop, Two Hours Ago _

 

Things had been going well lately in Central City, all things considered. Barry didn’t have any massive world ending supervillains to deal with at the moment, so he thought he was doing okay. He sipped cautiously at his piping hot coffee, glancing at Iris’ front page story as he lounged in Jitters, enjoying the moment.

Until Ray Palmer decided to crash his morning - literally.

Ray stumbled as he stepped around Barry, calling out a cheery greeting. His coffee sloshed dangerously as he collapsed in a seat next to Barry. Barry stared open mouthed at the specter of his friend - one of the friends that he’d previously thought was still  _ on a Time Ship. _

“Good morning Barry!” Ray grinned. His hair was a little longer, his eyes a little brighter, and his clothes were a lot less formal. It was a good look for him, Barry decided.

“Ray?” He squeaked, still staring. “I thought you were with the Legends?”

“Oh I am!” Ray grinned. “I’m just taking a break to check on things in Star City but I finished and I’m here to meet up with Mick before we head back to the jump ship.”

Barry tried not to look too much like a floundering fish out of water as his jaw flapped before he found his voice. “Th-th-the jump ship? Does that mean Snart is here too?” Not that he was hopeful, obviously, just rationally concerned.

“Oh yeah!” Ray was a literal ray of sunshine, it kind of hurt. “He’s back, but he’s staying. I guess for his sister? Which I didn’t know he had a sister, I don’t think  _ anyone _ knew he had a sister. Except possibly Mick.”

“Yeah, Lisa,” Barry croaked, taking a quick sip of his coffee to clear his throat and wincing at the burn. He mentally thanked his super healing as the coffee scalded it’s way down his esophagus.

“Right! Of course you know, you’re  _ nemeses _ or whatever the cool kids are calling it these days,” Ray laughed. “But don’t worry, I don’t think Snart’s going to be off causing trouble anytime soon.” And that - that was the moment that something shifted in Ray’s expression and Barry paused.

Ray was the most positive person that Barry had ever met, but something somber settled over him then, mostly disguised by his genuine smile. But Barry had known Ray for enough time that it became obvious something had happened while the Legends had been away. But Ray didn’t bring it up again as he sipped his coffee -- and Barry realized that if he wanted answers, he’d be better off hunting down Snart himself.

Not that Barry had thought about trying to track down his nemesis before.

Except, maybe he had? He’d never admit it, even under threat of death by Cold Gun, but there had been nights when Barry finished reading the latest article by  _ Iris West-Thawne, _ and he was alone in his room in Joe’s house with no patrols to run now that he and Wally switched nights - those were the nights that Barry wondered if he could find out where the Legends were and just run back in time to find them.

Or even forward in time.

Just to say hi.

Just to  _ see _ them.

...just to see  _ him. _

Barry didn’t know what he and Snart were anymore, but he had a funny feeling that the title ‘nemesis’ no longer applied.

Barry folded his newspaper, his stomach churning. Suddenly his coffee didn’t seem so appetizing. He placed the cup on the table next to the paper and stood quickly, ignoring Ray’s babbling - Ray was nice but Barry wasn’t in the right headspace to humor his friend.

He felt his mouth moving but his brain wasn’t fully aware as he spiralled. He made some sort of stilted apology to Ray before rushing as fast as he could without using the Speed Force until he was in the alley, taking gulping breaths. Barry had never had a panic attack, and this wasn’t that, but it was something and he knew that it had to do with learning that Leonard Snart was back in town…

...and he hadn’t even stopped by to tell Barry.

Barry was so caught up in his mind that he didn’t hear the footsteps approaching, and by the time the hand landed on his shoulder, it was too late - there was a needle in his neck and the whole world grew dark. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed as his body hit the ground were the curious faces of Mick Rory and Lisa Snart leaning over him.

 

_ Leonard Snart’s Apartment, the Present _

 

Barry really wanted to phase through the floor and away from this entire situation. He’d woken up to the surprised exclamations of both Mick and Lisa who had immediately started arguing about the dose of tranquilizer he’d been given. Apparently he was supposed to have been out for a couple of hours but he’d barely made it to 45 minutes.

Barry obviously couldn’t tell them that their dosage had been fine, it was just his super metabolism at work.

So instead he started bargaining.

Pleading.

Begging.

Anything to cajole their goal in kidnapping  _ Barry Allen, CSI _ out of them before Leonard Snart walked through the door that Barry was conveniently placed in front of. So for an hour he plied the pair with as much puppy-dog-eyed-über-nerd as he could muster, and until Len had walked through the door he’d only managed to squeeze the fact that they were after  _ the Flash _ out of them.

He had to admit, Mick and Lisa made a pretty good team.

But this? This was the actual worst day of Barry’s life.

“You’re crazy.”

Barry’s heart lurched. It wasn’t an outright denial, which was what he’d been expecting from Snart after Mick threw out accusations of love with such a cavalier attitude, but it wasn’t an agreement either. Barry couldn’t exactly expect confirmation of Snart’s -  _ Len’s _ \- feelings with Lisa and Mick holding the possible object of those affections hostage in Len’s living room.

“I’m not crazy, and you know it,” Mick shot back and Barry could hear the irritation. Mick seemed to have calmed down since the last time Barry had seen him - and picturing the Heatwave he’d met back at the very beginning? There wasn’t a comparison, they were like two different people.

Len was back to sneering and Barry was glad he was keeping his face tucked towards his abdomen. He didn’t want to see Len’s expression or let Len see the way his cheeks were flaming - they were probably the same color as his suit at this point.

“So you’re willing to risk the wrath of  _ the Flash _ just because you think I, what, have some unresolved sexual tension?”

Barry heard Lisa make a sort of strangled noise but Mick cut her off. “Never said sex, Snart, I said  _ love. _ You can’t deflect with me - I’ve known you nearly your entire life.” Barry could almost hear Len’s teeth grinding in response to Mick’s accusation.

“Just because you went and got yourself all cozy with Palmer doesn’t mean --,” and  _ what?!  _ Barry jerked upright, eyes wide and jaw slack. He stared at Len who was glaring at Mick, and yep, that was definitely his truthful stare and Barry’s brain felt like it was on the fritz.

First, he’s kidnapped by Mick Rory and Lisa Snart as bait for  _ himself, _ then he’s told that he’s not  _ just _ bait for the Flash, he’s bait so that Len and the Flash can confess...their feelings? And now this?  _ Ray Palmer and Mick Rory were in a romantic relationship? _

“It’s not as straightforward as that,” Mick was talking and Barry felt the blood rush from his face as he felt the nozzle of the Heat Gun tap him on the cheek.  _ How much of that had he said out loud? _

“We’re...partners,” Mick continued, as if compelled to explain his relationship status to the nerdy forensic scientist in Len’s living room. “It’s romantic. Not sexual. But that ain’t the point. How the hell’d you know he meant Ray Palmer?”

Barry caught Len flinching out of the corner of his eye as Barry stammered his best approximation of a lie. “We- He- Look, I know the Flash and everyone at STAR Labs so I might have overheard that you and Le-- Snart were off with the Legends? And Ray Palmer is a Legend, at least according to Felicity Smoak, who is also my friend?”

The answer seemed to appease Mick who grunted and removed the Heat Gun much to Barry and Len’s relief. It was minor but Barry saw Len’s shoulders relax a fraction.

“Look, Lenny,” Lisa piped up finally and Barry had almost forgotten she was there. His blood chilled as he wondered how much of his body language she’d been watching - how much of Len’s body language - and if she was putting the pieces together.

_ “Don’t.” _

Len’s voice was tense and Lisa paused. Barry even paused his rapid fire thought process that had already shifted to trying to escape to avoid an awkward identity reveal and conversation with Len that he clearly didn’t want to have.

But Len didn’t look angry. He looked… defeated.

“Just put him back, Mick,” Len sighed, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. “It doesn’t matter if the Flash comes here or I go to STAR Labs, the answer is going to be the same.”

 

\------

  
  


Len loved his sister. Hell, he even loved Mick. He wouldn’t have knocked Mick’s lights out at the Vanishing Point to save his oldest friend if he didn’t. Len wasn’t necessarily good at  _ expressing _ that love, or even receiving it in return, but he knew it was there. They all knew that they were a family and they’d stick together.

But right now Len was ready to kick Mick’s ass back to the Vanishing Point and leave him there.

His oldest friend had decided it was a good idea to kidnap Barry Allen as bait so that Len could confess his feelings  _ for Barry Allen.  _ The worst part was, Len really couldn’t blame him because he was the only one in the room who knew that Barry Allen was the person they were all waiting on to burst through the door to come rescue… Barry.

Len had almost assumed that Lisa and Mick had figured out Barry’s secret identity by now - after all the Team Flash/Rogues team ups. It wasn’t like Barry was actually that good at hiding it, he hardly ever remembered to disguise his voice and the whole face vibration never lasted a full conversation.

So after telling Mick that he was absolutely positive that any expressed affection would be rebuffed, he was absolutely floored by the sound of Barry’s timid voice piping up -- “What makes you think you know m-- the Flash’s answer?”

Len didn’t know what was worse - the fact that the kid couldn’t seem to keep a lid on his identity or the fact that Barry Allen was about to attempt to have a civil conversation with Leonard Snart about feelings.

Len took a deep breath.

“I need a drink.”

Len moved past Barry quickly towards his kitchen to grab the bottle of scotch he’d fabricated that, despite being fake, still tasted like the expensive stuff and went down just as smooth. He valiantly tried to ignore his best friend and his sister excitedly interrogating Barry about what he knew about the Flash’s feelings -- “Are you close friends with the Flash?” “Is he gay? Or bi? Because Lenny really could use a good boyfriend.” -- as he poured three fingers into a glass.

He snorted quietly at Barry’s answers (“Ye-- Yes? Kind of?” and a surprisingly confident and quick, “Bisexual. Very bisexual.”). He sipped the scotch, leaning against the counter. Len wasn’t sure when feelings had come into play in the strangely twisted relationship he had with Barry, but he knew they had started growing the minute he’d seen that fierce and proud expression without the mask for the first time under a full moon in a quiet corner of the woods.

Len was down to a finger of scotch when the line of questioning started to hit too close to home -- “Why hasn’t the Flash shown up yet? Think we picked the right friend?” -- and he tossed back the rest of the drink with a grimace. It wasn’t technically a waste but he’d be hard pressed to find a bottle that was actually as old as the fabricated liquid claimed to be - and didn’t cost over a million dollars.

_ “Alright,  _ you two need to cool down,” Len barked, pleased at the unimpressed look Barry shot him as he came back around, dragging a chair. “Go chill in the other room. I need to have a little chat with Barry.”

Lisa narrowed her eyes at him even as Mick shrugged and turned on his heel, marching into the other room without question.

“What is it, Lise?” Len snapped, bitterness seeping into his tone.

Lisa took a deep breath. “Don’t hurt him, Len. It was our idea. And we still want to be on the Flash’s good side. But Mick and I just want you to be happy.” Then she ducked into the next room before Len could even process a reply.

Eighty-seven seconds ticked by before Barry finally broke the silence.

“So this is awkward.”

Len couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up his throat. It had been a long time since he’d really had a good laugh and somehow the absurdity of their situation was too funny. Maybe it was the alcohol, but his chest finally felt free of the invisible iron bindings that had been strapped around his lungs for nearly three weeks.

Barry grinned at him and Len shot back his best attempt at a smile. It seemed to work because the kid’s eyes lit up like Haunnukah candles.

“You’re telling me,” Len sighed. He gestured a hand to the bindings around Barry’s wrists, the only thing keeping him to the chair. “You want to get out of those?” Lisa and Mick must have really bought the CSI nerd story, because aside from a few flimsy ropes tied around his wrists, there was nothing was holding Barry back from standing up and taking off -- the chair be damned.

Barry shrugged. “No, it’s fine. I could have phased through them by now if they were really uncomfortable, but Lisa and Mick really did seem like they didn’t want to hurt me, just...get me here to talk to you. So I guess they were still successful.”

“They’ll only think it’s successful if  _ the Flash _ comes bursting in here looking for you,” Len teased, giving Barry a side-long look. It was true, and they both knew it.

The conversation paused as Barry looked too hard at Len for his comfort. It had been nearly four months since he’d last seen the Flash, on a trip he assumed was in the future, or what might now be possibly a Time Remnant, and would never happen in this new timeline. Or maybe it would, but not under the same circumstances.

Len wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to face the shark man again, though.

Time Travel. What a pain.

“Why didn’t you come see me when you got back?”

Len openly stared at Barry who was watching him carefully. There was an air of caution around the speedster Len wasn’t used to seeing - not fear, but a sense of trepidation and caution like he didn’t know where he was allowed to tread.

Len didn’t know how to tell him he was allowed to tread everywhere when it came to Len.

“I know you’ve been back for a few weeks,” Barry continued, pressing forward when Len did nothing in response. “Ray told me. He also told me something happened while you were away.”

That startled Len back into action. “Ray  _ told you?” _

Barry looked sheepish. “Not exactly? I’m pretty good at reading Ray and he pulled a face that I figured meant that something had happened to you before...you came back.” His wide brown eyes were full to the brim of emotions that Len was afraid to interpret.

But Barry was so open, so warm, so trusting. For the first time in three weeks Len didn’t want to pretend he was okay. Len didn’t want to hide from Barry the way he was trying to hide from Lisa. Maybe it was the fact that he’d seen the dark that Barry tried to hide, but Len knew that Barry would understand.

“I died.”

“What?!” Barry’s yelp was too loud and Lisa was at the door in seconds, concern on her face. Len waved her off with an eye roll as if to say  _ ‘The kid’s a skinny wimp, what can I say’ _ and she backed off, retreating back to wherever she and Mick were hiding, waiting for the Flash.

When Len was certain the coast was clear, he continued. “I died in a place outside of time, sacrificed myself to save Mick. And the rest of the Legends too. But mostly for Mick.”

Barry’s face was disturbingly blank but he listened with rapt attention to Len.

“But you came back,” Barry said finally. “You’re here, so you came back. Like Sara.”

Len hummed. “More or less. Time has a funny way of fixing it’s mistakes.”

The silence that followed was comfortable, as Barry seemed to turn the information over in his mind. Len wasn’t entirely sure what he was thinking, but he could admit that he was enjoying having Barry in his apartment, talking like friends. Mick was wrong. Leonard Snart wasn’t in love with  _ the Flash. _

He was in love with Barry Allen.

And to Len, that was a very important distinction.

 

_ Meanwhile at STAR Labs _

 

Cisco tried for the eighteenth time to hit the wastebasket but the ball of crumpled paper bounced off the edge and joined their compatriots across the floor. Things were boring today. It wasn’t that crime had stopped in Central City, but with Wally helping out things had gotten a lot slower.

“If you don’t stop wasting paper, I’ll take it away from you,” Caitlin called in a sing-song voice from across the Cortex. Cisco rolled his eyes and rolled away in his chair back to his algorithms on the computers that were still running away with ease. Cisco almost wished something would break down just so he could have something to do.

“Maybe we should start a new project!” He called back to Caitlin. “Just so we’re not sitting here.”

“Um, maybe I can help?”

Cisco spun so fast in his chair that he nearly unseated himself, sprawling his arms against the desk to brace himself as an awkward looking Ray Palmer appeared in the doorway. He was dressed down in a polo shirt and slacks, and he waved nervously at Cisco who knew his mouth was open.

“Palmer?” Cisco yelped.  _ “Ray _ Palmer?”

“Hey Cisco!” Ray beamed, meeting Cisco halfway as they pulled a classic bro-five. Ray slapped Cisco on the shoulder and Cisco was grateful he was out of the suit. They still hadn’t found a solution to making bro-fives and bro-hugs any less painful in the ATOM suit.

“Ray!” Caitlin beamed, coming around the corner to give the taller man a hug that he graciously received with minimal hunching. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be out with the Legends?”

“Oh! Right! Yes, we’re just on shore leave. Well, I say we -- Me and Mick. Snart is back too!”

Cisco felt his heart stutter. “Sorry did you just say that  _ Captain Cold _ and  _ Heatwave _ are back in Central City?”

Ray shrugged. “Yeah, but they’re fine now. They’re Legends.” He paused. “Oh, wait, that’s not why I came by. Is Barry around here by any chance?” He glanced around the lab as if Barry would jump out from behind a curtain and yell ‘surprise’.

“No,” Cisco drawled, “Barry’s not here. He should be here soon though. Why?”

Ray looked nervously around the room and scratched the back of his neck. “See, here’s the thing… I saw Barry this morning? About an hour or two ago, at Jitters, and he walked outside but then he never came back. Not for his coffee, or his paper, or…” He handed an object forward and Cisco’s heart sunk. “His wallet.”

“Cisco…” Caitlin’s voice was distant as he took hold of Barry’s wallet, the vibes around it bleeding into his head. He could almost see Barry, tied to a chair in a room - facing a door. There was a couch, a table, and a window with light streaming onto the floor in golden sunbeams.

And across from Barry sat…

_ “Snart.” _

“What?!” Ray yelped, snatching Barry’s wallet back from Cisco, but it was too late. Cisco was already hopping onto his terminal and pulling up the tracker to ping Barry’s cellphone for his location. Barry  _ had _ been tied to the chair, which meant that no matter what Ray said, Snart was behind this.

“Cisco, you can’t really think that Snart would have kidnapped Barry, do you?” Caitlin asked, unsure.

“I know what I saw Caitlin,” he replied, voice unshakable. “Somehow Snart is involved. Maybe he didn’t pick Barry up at Jitters, but he’s with him now. We have to find him before Captain Cold does something drastic.”

“Wait,” Ray spluttered as Caitlin moved into position to assist, but the pair ignored him in favor of triangulating Barry’s location. Ray kept trying, though, his voice white noise in the background as Cisco furiously typed. “I don’t think we’re reading the situation right, Snart’s a good person, he’s changed - I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding!”

Cisco huffed a rueful laugh under his breath. “As if.”

 

_ Leonard Snart’s Apartment, 30 minutes later _

 

Lisa squinted towards the doorway that led to the living room. She couldn’t hear much of the conversation but she could hear bursts of loud laughter and the steady rumble of her brother’s voice punctuated by questions from the skinny CSI.

She tilted her head and glanced at Mick.

“Does his voice sound familiar to you?”

Mick glanced up from his book, reading this time rather than writing, and shrugged. “Not really - but you know my hearing’s wrecked, Lise. Too many explosions.” He considered her thoughtful expression carefully. “Why, you think you’ve met him before?”

Lisa shook her head. “I know I have, but that was ages ago. It’s something else… something I’m missing but is right in front of me.”

Mick grunted and turned back to his novel and Lisa sighed. It had been almost four hours since they’d snatched Barry Allen, CSI - and still no sign of her brother’s favorite playmate. Not even a crackle of electricity. And Lenny still hadn’t called the all clear for them to go back into the living room and wait with him, so she and Mick were stuck at the back of the apartment waiting.

While apparently her brother told the CSI all the fun stories of time travel that even she hadn’t heard yet.

She tried not to pout, really, she did. But she failed.

Why was Lenny talking to the CSI at all? He was just the third little nerd in the trio of little nerds that surrounded the Flash on a near constant basis! She honestly didn’t even think she’d ever seen her brother in the same room as Barry Allen. Come to think of it, she’d also never seen the Flash in the same room as Barry Allen either - and she’d seen Cisco and Caitlin with the Scarlet Speedster plenty of times.

At another burst of laughter and an exclaimed, “You didn’t!”, Lisa felt all the cogs in her brain click into place and she felt the room spin as the blood drained from her face and her hands grew clammy.

_ Barry Allen was the Flash. _

She glanced at Mick but he was engrossed in his page turning science fiction, glasses perched on the end of his nose. She stared at him hard. There was no way he knew that Barry was the Flash, or he’d never have suggested the plan in the first place. Only…

Lisa had suggested the smash and grab of a science nerd - and Mick had suggested Barry.

She went along with his idea, no questions asked. It was partially because she didn’t want to grab Cisco, because that felt wrong. And she didn’t want to grab Caitlin, not after the bomb incident. Lisa  _ liked _ Cisco and Caitlin. Whether they knew it or not, she’d adopted them under her protection. The Rogues knew that the STAR Labs geeks were off limits as much as the Flash belonged to Lenny.

Except, apparently their genius idea to snatch the extra geek also meant they’d accidentally snatched  _ the Flash. _

Everything suddenly made sense. The way her brother had reacted after seeing Barry, Barry’s crushing defeat after Mick threw out the concept that maybe Lenny was in love with the Flash, Lenny’s possessiveness of the Flash after the night he first saw the kid’s face. Lenny had told them he’d seen the Flash without the ridiculous cowl, but he had still refused to even drop hints about the mysterious identity of Central City’s hero.

“Not even his hair color?” Lisa had teased, and Lenny had shut her down.

With that little mystery solved, Lisa felt her heart glow a little as she heard Lenny’s expressive voice float through the apartment. She hadn’t heard her brother this happy in years, if ever. And despite being tied to a chair, Barry sounded equally happy.

Maybe, just maybe… Lisa held tight to a tiny flicker of hope that maybe the Flash loved Lenny too.

It was really a beautiful moment. So of course it ended with an earth-shattering crash, an explosion, and (she saw as she rounded the corner with her Gold Gun) a man in a mech suit with glowing hands.

“Barry?!” the man in the suit yelped, immediately lowering the pulsing beams of light he was sporting out of each palm. Lenny was backing up against the wall next to Barry’s chair with a confused yet calm expression.

“Ray!?” Barry shouted back in equal surprise.

Lenny rolled his eyes. “What the hell are you doing Palmer?” He sounded exasperated rather than angry and Lisa gaped. Metal-suit man, Ray, looked sheepish as he shuffled away from the door where Cisco and Caitlin appeared looking terrified but determined.

“Haircut?!” This time it was Mick, from behind Lisa, book and glasses forgotten and Heat Gun in hand and he was staring at Ray in confusion.

Lisa felt her anger bubbling to the surface and it exploded from her lips like molten gold from her gun. “Okay, what the  _ hell _ is going on!?”

Everyone stilled and the air grew quiet except for the faint whirring sound from Ray’s suit. Cisco kept glancing at her in concern before turning back to Barry who looked lost. Barry kept glancing from face to face as if trying to solve a puzzle before he eventually settled on looking up at Lenny who was standing at his shoulder, a hand on the back of the chair.

“We should be asking the same thing,” Cisco finally said, breaking the tense silence. “You’re supposed to be good guys - why did you kidnap Barry?”

Mick answered with a gruff, “We thought it would be good for a laugh.”

Lisa caught her brother shooting Mick a soft and grateful expression before his features hardened again and the ice was back in his eyes.

“Uh huh…” Ray wasn’t sold and he looked at Mick with hurt in his eyes. “Mick, I thought…”

Whatever Ray thought, Mick’s resolve crumbled under the disappointment radiating from the other man and  _ oh _ \- Lisa realized with a start - this was Mick’s  _ Ray Palmer. _ She flicked her gaze up and down the length of the skinny rail of a man and nodded. He was definitely Mick’s type, and he seemed invested. She approved.

But with Mick’s crumbling resolve under Ray’s kicked-puppy look, Lisa decided to save her brother the embarrassment of his feelings being outed in front of Barry’s closest friends by jumping straight into the line of fire.

“Actually it was my idea.”

Now it was Cisco’s turn to look like a kicked puppy. What was it with the Flash and his friends being actual cinnamon rolls? Actual cinnamon rolls who all seemed to fall for Rogues. Lisa wasn’t sure that maybe there wasn’t something wrong with the members of Team Flash.

“Lisa? But...why?” This time it was Caitlin who looked skeptical - ever the scientist.

Lenny watched her carefully and Barry looked nervous but there was no way out of this without someone losing their secret. In fact, Lisa evaluated the group, it was entirely possible that the only person no longer aware that Barry Allen was the Flash was Mick - and it wasn’t like he was going to tell anyone. Mick was going to be too busy hopping around time with his new boyfriend to even bother about the Flash.

That was it, she decided quickly. Lenny could hate her when she was done but she was ready to see her brother happy.

Even if it meant calling out his feelings in front of everyone.

“I wanted to borrow Barry,” Lisa sighed, lowering her Gold Gun. “Just for a few hours so that the Flash would come talk to Lenny.”

Ray scrunched his nose in confusion. “Wait, they don’t —,” he waved a hand at Lisa and Mick but was cut off by both Lenny and Barry shouting quickly,  _ “No!” _

“Well, no,” Lisa admitted with a tiny smirk. “Initially I thought it might be a nice team bonding experience if all three of the STAR Labs nerds got kidnapped by the Rogues at least once but I didn’t count on Barry Allen actually being the Flash.”

Everything devolved into chaos at her words and Lisa couldn’t help but smile.

 

\------

 

Lisa knew.

Lisa  _ knew. _

She’d somehow figured out that Barry was the Flash, and if Len had to guess? She’d probably figured it out in the last thirty minutes or so. Barry was stammering and turning scarlet (a color Len wanted to see more often), as Cisco and Caitlin fumbled for excuses. Ray was too busy talking to Mick who very clearly couldn’t have cared less about the Flash’s secret identity. Or maybe Mick had figured it out too — Len had always been known to underestimate his best friend.

But Lisa knew, and from the smug look on her face that wasn’t all she knew.

“No, what? I’m not,” Barry tried but he relaxed when Len shifted his hand onto Barry’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. Len looked down into Barry’s trusting eyes and nodded. Barry sighed.

There was the telltale hum of vibration and Barry stood, the ropes that had been holding down his wrists falling slack into the seat of the chair as Barry phased through them until he was standing next to Len looking sheepish. Len was also satisfied at the tiny squeak Lisa emitted watching Barry’s wrists move through solid objects. It was a handy skill, and would have turned Barry into a great thief if Barry had been even an ounce less of a good person.

“Yeah, I’m…the Flash,” Barry confessed sullenly. “I guess this defeats the purpose of a secret identity.”

Len nudged Barry gently with an elbow. “Of course not, Scarlet, you just seem to be forgetting she’s my sister after all. This was bound to happen eventually.”

“Thanks, Lenny,” Lisa’s smug tone was irritating but Len let it slide. “But this has now become sufficiently awkward so why don’t I take the kids and Mick out for lunch and you two can finally have that heart to heart I was aiming for?” She stared hard at Barry who shrunk under her gaze. “If you get your own nerd this means I get one too, right? After all, Mick has Ray.”

Len sighed and turned to Cisco who looked lost. He jabbed a finger at the engineer. “Don’t break my sister’s heart.”

Cisco swallowed thickly. “Yeah, I remember what happened to the last guy.”

Len felt the edges of a dangerous smile tug at the corners of his lips at the reminder. It wasn’t one of his proudest moments but he’d never regret it. “Good,” he replied. “Now get out before I decide to put this conversation on ice.”

Barry snorted and Len resisted the urge to gloat that at least Barry appreciated his puns. The group shuffled out of Len’s apartment (after Cisco and Caitlin double checked that yes Barry did want to be left behind and this really was one giant misunderstanding).

Mick slapped both Len and Barry on the back as he left before he turned to Ray and they linked fingers (an awkward look with Ray’s hand still in the ATOM suit glove) before heading after Cisco, Lisa, and Caitlin. Len watched them go until they were out of sight. There wasn’t a door to close after them anymore, and he was really going to need to find new safe houses. He might have been a hero in the eyes of the Legends and Barry, but he was still a criminal to the CCPD.

“So.” Barry cleared his throat and Len turned to look at the man who had changed so much of Len’s life. “We’re supposed to talk about feelings, right?”

Len sighed and collapsed onto the couch, offering the seat next to him to Barry who flopped down in the space with resignation.

“We could always not and say we did,” Len’s hands were tingling and he stretched his fingers experimentally before settling them palm down over his own knees. Having Barry next to him felt like being next to one of those static electricity orbs at the science museum - his hair felt like it wanted to stand on end and his skin broke out into chills. He had to remind himself to keep his hands to himself - Barry might know how he felt but that didn’t mean Barry felt the same.

“What if I wanted to talk feelings with you?”

And that - well, that was definitely not what Len had been expecting.

“What am I supposed to say, Scarlet?” He asked, finally looking at the expressive green eyes of his one-time nemesis. “I can’t even tell my sister and Mick that I —  _ feel _ that way. But I do,” he swallowed hard, “…about you too.”

Long and lithe fingers reached forward and tangled themselves with Len’s calloused hands and he had to marvel at how warm Barry’s skin felt against his. He tried to refrain from laughing at the irony - lightning and ice. Instead, he squeezed Barry’s hand gently, his emotions crawling up the back of his throat to strangle him.

“Me too.”

Barry’s eyes, so open and expressive, spoke volumes - words that Len wasn’t even sure he was ready to hear, but it was enough and he crossed the space between them with purpose before pressing his lips to Barry’s - Barry’s lips that rose up to meet him, insistent, unyielding, and perfect.

They kissed like they fought - with passion, with flow, a give and take so subtle that Len could have cried from the poetic beauty of the kid’s gentleness as Barry teased his tongue against the seam of Len’s own lips. It was still different and new - territory neither of them had ever dreamed of exploring, but they were giving it their all.

Barry’s free hand found its way to the back of Len’s head, fingers running gently up and down the short buzzed hairs at the base of his neck and Len shivered. He could almost imagine a different but just as exciting feeling of Barry’s hands, wrapped in tri-polymer, running over his hair and down the sides of his neck.

Everything about Barry was heady and intoxicating and he pulled away with a gasp of breath, his senses realigning to the new feeling of Barry pressed against him, Barry practically in his lap, Barry’s hands on his face, and his own hands wrapped protectively and possessively around Barry’s hips.

“You’re a good man, Leonard Snart,” Barry whispered with a quick peck against his lips, “and a great kisser.”

Len couldn’t help it, he laughed, pausing only to run his teeth down the side of the scarlet speedster’s neck - enjoying the thrill that ran up his spine when Barry shivered.

“Please, Scarlet,” he grinned into Barry’s skin, leaving lingering kisses. “Call me Len.”

 

\------

 

“We’re really going to leave them alone?” Cisco asked, glancing at the assembled group that had squeezed into a corner booth at the diner down the road from Len’s apartment. Mick shrugged, flipping through the menu, hand still entwined with Ray’s (sans suit that was now tucked protectively in Ray’s pocket).

“They’ve been dancing around each other long enough, it was about damn time,” he grumbled, trying not to let the small burst of happiness show as Ray squeezed his hand. Mick was really happy, and it wasn’t something he was familiar with. He’d been on the Waverider for almost two months before the team realized that Len was alive. The good part of being brought back to life in a place outside time meant that when they returned to the Vanishing Point it was as if they’d never left.

But Mick had still lived those two months without Len, and Ray had been the only part of those two months that kept him grounded - more than Len, more than pain - more than fire.

“I can’t believe Snart has a thing for Barry,” Ray was grinning, and Mick could practically feel his amusement vibrating through his fingers. “I mean, I guess I could see it? But I’ve never had a nemesis so I’m not really sure how that would work, and didn’t he try to kill Barry that one time? What about —,” Mick took the opportunity to cut off his boyfriend while he was ahead by pressing a kiss to Ray’s cheek that sent the nerdy scientist into a melting mess with flaming red cheeks.

Mick liked that color on him.

“You know what, I can see Barry’s whole thing with Snart,” Caitlin piped up in the empty space as the assembled group continued to browse their menus. “But what I really want to know is --  _ when did this happen, Ray?!” _

Mick grinned as chaos erupted and the assembled group of nearly every single important person in Mick’s life began grilling them with the third degree. He didn’t know when the STAR Labs geeks had joined the group that Mick considered family, but with Ray at his right, Lisa on his left, Cisco next to her and Caitlin next to Ray - the only people missing were the idiots in love that had finally gotten their act together.

Len should have known better than to assume Mick hadn’t figured out the Flash’s secret identity, he thought with a small private grin. It had been an extreme pleasure to have Lisa bring up the kidnapping idea because Mick had immediately known who to grab out of the “trio of nerdy STAR Labs scientists”.

A hat trick indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> Legends can't keep it's head on straight about time travel so here's my take - Len did run the mission for the Dominator tech before he died, except after blowing the Oculus, Time (with a capital T) resets itself to the way things Should Have Been without the knockoff Time Lords interfering, meaning it brought Len back and the team found him and he decided to retire back to Central City.
> 
> New timeline is still in flux but will settle and Len will still remember getting the Dominator tech but may have to go get it again in this new reverted timeline, who knows?
> 
> Eddie lives because I say so, and Barry moved on from Iris like mid-season 1. This is only Flash canon compliant through Flash S2E03 because that's as far as I am in Flash (long story) and I just had to write this after Lisa stumbled on Cisco, Caitlin, AND Barry in Jitters.


End file.
